Truce
by esther247
Summary: Zatanna & Nightwing have been together for quite some time now. There's no doubt that they love each other beyond measure, but that doesn't mean they always see eye to eye. As Zatanna sets out on a mission with Raven & Artemis to a space between the realms of Chaos and Order, Dick dawns the suit one more time in hopes, that despite the pain, their relationship comes out on top.
1. Chapter 1

It was midnight and Dick was looking at his phone. He groaned, Zatanna hadn't left him any messages. He knew better than to worry, she could take care of herself and she was with Artemis and Star, but he couldn't help himself. He was in love with her, there was genuinely no one who knew him better.

The way a smile would creep onto her face slowly before exploding and lighting up the whole room, the way her mind raced in the midst of battle, making her just as cunning as she was lethal. The way she knew what he was thinking before he could voice it aloud himself, and the way she was truly beautiful inside and out. Her looks paled (if that were possible) in comparison to her humility and grace, even on the darkest of days. She didn't have super strength but it sure seemed like it, and she made him feel supported, in all that he did whether she agreed or not she supported him. Emotionally, mentally, hell sometimes even physically. Over the years, she had truly grown into his partner, his constant, and it scared him some nights, just how important she had become to him. He never once thought about losing her, his mind just wouldn't got there.

He had to make this right, he hated being angry with her because it just made him angry at himself. They hardly ever got into fights, but when they did…He clutched the phone as he thought of calling her first. He threw it to the edge of the bed, no he wouldn't call her first not when he felt this was the wrong way of saving her father.

Using Raven to enter into space between the realms of chaos and order, where Fate and Klarion were from…it was too risky. To make matters worse, Klarion gave her the idea, as if that weren't enough of a bad sign.

He knew firsthand what it felt like to lose family, but this seemed like too much and though he didn't know much about the mystic arts, he knew that according Zatanna that messing with dark magic came with a price.

" _This isn't the same thing Dick and don't you dare try to make it sound like it is, because you know nothing about it!" she had told him a week ago._

" _What's the difference Zee?! Huh?! Klarion obviously wants you to do his dirty work and you're falling right into his lap with this one!" He shouted right back at her._

" _Don't you think I realize that he could just be using me? But I have to try, this is my father's life on the line, if it were your family- " she started_

 _Dick's eye almost bulged out of his head, "DO_ _ **NOT**_ _GO THERE WITH ME, ZATANNA!" he shouted in a voice that sounded too much like Batman's._

 _The second he said it he regretted it, he saw the pain on her face, the pain she had been hiding from him since the mission debrief. He thought she would storm off, or throw a glass, or curse at him until he was red in the face but she did neither of those things. It was so silent, you could hear a pin drop._

 _Tears flooded her eyes and painted her already flushed face, and she ran. She slammed the door to the bedroom, and sank behind the door where she held herself and cried._

 _Dick hung his head, he knew he was in the wrong then. He had never spoken to her like that, ever. After about an hour of listening to her cry, he decided he'd had enough, it was tormenting him knowing that he did that to her. The clock struck midnight just as he had finished suiting up, and started to walk out the door, just as he touched the doorknob he heard the swing of the bedroom door and saw her standing there, in the middle of the hallway._

" _Where are you going?" Zatanna asked in a strangled voice. He looked at her, her face still showing evidence of her tears._

 _Dock opened his mouth to speak, but had to clear it. "Out." He whispered roughly._

 _Zatanna said nothing in response but he heard her pull in a quick ragged breath. He turned the doorknob quickly, unable to face the mess he'd made._

" _Don't" she said, "Don't go." She said her voice pleading and breaking._

 _He froze, "I don't know if I can stay, not after…look I'm coming back Zee. I'm not leaving you, I just need a minute." He explained._

 _Zatanna walked over to where he stood and put her hand over his on the doorknob. "Please?" she said, her voice still full of unmasked hurt._

 _He looked down into her cerulean blue eyes before looking away at her naked feet, he shook his head. "I don't want to fight you, Zee." He admitted._

" _Then don't," she breathed, she hesitantly put her hands on either side of his face. Her hands trembled a little, though she was clearly sure of her actions. She stood on the tips of her toes and pressed her soft, full lips to his._

 _He didn't hesitate as he responded to her kiss, with an anger and passion of his own. He hoisted her up so he wouldn't have to keep bending downwards, he pinned her against the door just as she pulled away for a quick breath. His mouth never left her skin and instead trailed down her throat. She ran one hand through his hair and used the other one to lock the door behind her before grabbing his face roughly and ripping off his domino mask._

 _His eyes were bloodshot and he sighed, meeting her gaze. She looked into his blue eyes, a different color from her own and read the questions and answers in them. She stroked his face soothingly with her thumb and nodded in silent agreement with him before closing her eyes and kissing him softly first and then passionately. He kissed her back fiercely and as she began to pull away at his costume, he walked them back into the bedroom without ever breaking the kiss._

 _That night, they said nothing and everything in their movements. He loved her, loved her sweetly and slowly. It was almost cruel how sweet he was and she knew it, he was punishing them both and her body sang for him. Though they had both climaxed multiple times, he never stopped for more than a few minutes. No, he would love her until their bodies ached of it and until her throat was dry from her pleading and screaming._

 _Finally, when their bodies could take no more, he pulled her into the frame of his body to sleep. Zatanna's eyes were still moist with fresh tears, tears of pain, pleasure, love and fear. He kissed her tears away softly, and she moved her hands trembling slightly from the physical exhaustion, to his chiseled, sweat covered face._

" _I love you," she whispered._

" _I know," he said, a hint of a small smile pulled at his lips, but then he frowned, "But you're still going, aren't you?" he asked. She could hear anger and hurt in the underlying tone of his voice. He was trying, hard, not to let it upset him the way it had earlier, she let his blue eyes pour into hers._

 _She wanted nothing more than to satisfy him, physically, emotionally…but she had a mission, the only mission that mattered since she first joined the team officially. Nothing, not even Dick, could sway her on this. Not if it meant she could succeed._

 _She nodded. He sighed and his warm breath washed over her face._

" _So where does that leave us?" he asked quietly._

 _Her heart broke as she heard his own unmasked pain, echoing hers. Her breathing hitched and tears sprung in her eyes again. She smiled what she knew was a weak smile, and shrugged. "A truce?" she said weakly._

 _He pulled back a little to really look at the face of the woman he was holding in his arms. It was flushed, tired, her bright eyes torn between what he knew was an impossible choice for her. The bold had pooled to the center of her face, and the face that surrounded her face was matted with sweat and maybe even her tears. He was putting her through hell and he could see it, but he couldn't concede to this one. No…..he wouldn't. But there wasn't a will to fight there, neither of one could take the hurt anymore._

 _He nodded and pressed his lips to her forehead. "Okay, a truce." He agreed. He kissed her lips again and as she started to pull away, he let his lips linger on hers. She bit her lip in quick hesitation, before leaning in to kiss him again._

 _He looked her, his eyes, tight, hungry, angry, but resigned. He separated her legs, even as they trembled and hooked them overs his toned hips. He looked over her scathingly, wondering if she could really take it._

 _She could feel how raw she was from the last times, but if he was going to be angry with her anywhere, she wanted it to be in here because nothing had hurt worse than the words they would throw at each other later._

 _She gripped the sheets beneath her to steady herself and he plunged into her mercilessly, plunging into her so deep a sound foreign to her, ripped through her throat and escaped her mouth. He quickly took her lips in his and continued his plight._

 _He loved her again, savagely that time, harder, faster, without remorse. If he hadn't kept his lips secured to hers, she would've deafened him with her cries. Her body convulsed with wild pleasure, and as her body gave into the surge of the climax, her eyes rolling back into her head and bordering the line of consciousness they knew this is where the fight would end tonight, where nothing and everything would be said._

He looked at the phone on the edge of his bed, sighed, and ran his hand through his dark hair. He went to suit up, if she was fighting tonight then so would he. It would be a different villain, a different town, or maybe even a different realm but he'd fight until she came home. So there would be no fight left in him when she came back…little did he know…..she would do the same…..until she could finally go home. Where only peace would await her.


	2. Chapter 2

Zatanna sighed and mist screen before her vanished. He wasn't in the apartment and he hadn't called or messaged her since she left. That was almost two days ago, it took three days to get to Titans Tower from the East coast by car and the days only got longer as she waited for his, well his _'anything'_ she thought to herself bitterly.

 _He isn't at the apartment or the cave. I doubt he went back to the mansion…unless he did…. But that doesn't seem likely. Maybe he's just hanging out with Wally or Tim or…..or….or….Barbra_ she thought and a shiver went from her temple to her toes. _Great just great._

"Okay, are you gonna tell me what's going on or am I gonna have to wait until Dick tells Wally and Wally tells me?" Artemis asked, pulling Zatanna out of her revere.

She gave her sly smile and rolled her eyes, she should've known Artemis would know something was up. "It's nothing," she said nonchalantly.

Artemis threw her a disbelieving look so severe she had to laugh.

"What? I'm serious and keep your eyes on the road super sleuth." She joked.

Artemis rolled her eyes but shifted to watch the road more, "Oh come on Zee, you know Wally can't gossip right, he just says it with no emotion or anything and he leaves out the best details too. It's the worst kind of torture." She pretended to shudder. Zatanna tried to fight back the smile forming on her face.

Artemis pursed her lips for a moment and then spoke in a hushed tone. "Okay, is it worse than the time you -"

Zatanna gasped and threw her hand over her best friend's mouth, "No!" she shouted quickly. "It is not _**that**_ bad. _**Nothing**_ is _**that**_ bad."

She held her gaze with Artemis until it seemed like she finally believed her. Artemis nodded and Zatanna dropped her hand.

They were silent for a moment.

"I thought we swore never to speak of that ever again." Zatanna mumbled.

"Well it seems like we aren't talking about a lot of things right now." Artemis said curtly. Zatanna peaked from underneath her long lashes to steal a glance at her best friend's face.

Her blonde hair was in a tight ponytail underneath a black baseball cap. She wore a loosely fit black crop top that hung off her left shoulder and bared her perfectly toned torso. She wore black leggings made from the same material as her former uniform (because apparently she likes to be ready for anything even though she had been retired for some time now) and black combat boots. She wore no makeup and still looked drop dead gorgeous.

Zatanna made a whining sound and threw her hands into the air before slapping them onto her thighs. "Fine! Dick and I are fighting! Okay!? There, I said it." She said exasperatedly.

Artemis' face lit up with excitement, "I knew it!" she shouted. "I just knew it!"

"Don't sound so heartbroken," Zatanna sneered softly.

Artemis didn't hear her though, her mind was racing then and Zatanna could see the wheels turning. They turned onto a stretch of the highway that was empty. Artemis took this as a chance to interrogate her.

"You two are fighting? No way. I can't imagine you two going at it. I can't even picture you two arguing. Wow, the super couple is having trouble in paradise. Don't take this the wrong way, but it's kind of relieving to hear, I mean…..you know." She babbled.

Zatanna rolled her eyes and laughed, "We are not a super couple, I hate when you guys say that."

"You are so a super couple, you're super heros, super stars _-in your respective civilian fields of course-,_ and you're a couple. That has super couple written all over it, half the world looks to your relationship for guidance!" Artemis countered.

"No pressure or anything," Zatanna joked rolled her eyes. "And I wouldn't say we're arguing; people talk when they argue and we apparently aren't talking soooo…." She trailed off, unconsciously taking her lower lip between her teeth.

"That bad?" Artemis asked.

"I don't know…..I guess…..maybe?" she said exasperatingly, "We've never really argued like this before, he even yelled at me." She said in a small voice.

It was silent in the car for a moment. Zatanna looked out the windshield watching the road stretch on for miles. The sun sat lazily in the sky while the air stirred only to make room for the unnatural obstructions like the car they drove. Artemis' car was a green mustang, with custom designed leather interior, a graduation gift from Oliver Queen; the Green Arrow. Artemis was reluctant to accept the gift especially because he had already convinced her to let him pay for her tuition, but she adored the car. She cleaned it meticulously even though she hardly drove it and wouldn't let Wally go near it for the first year.

Thinking about it made Zatanna smirk, though they would never admit it, Artemis and Zatanna knew more about cars than most guys; _**except Dick**_ she thought sullenly. _**He knew the engine of most motor vehicles like the back of his hand.**_

"What'd you guys argue about?" Artemis asked, her whisper of a voice shattering the silence.

Zatanna didn't want to answer, she didn't want anyone to know about it. It was possible the worst fight they'd ever had, no scratch that it was the worst fight they'd ever had and they hardly had any fights to begin with. They were usually so in tune, on the same page and now that they weren't she didn't know how to feel. She didn't need any extra attention on the matter, it would only make her feel worse. But Artemis wasn't just anybody, Artemis was her best friend her sister of sorts. She sighed. "This trip, this mission, my motives and integrity as a hero, my dad…"

"Oh," Artemis breathed.

"Yeah," Zatanna squeaked. "Dick doesn't get it Artemis; my dad isn't dead. I can still save him, and anything that leads me closer to that goal, I will do."

"Within reason." Artemis added.

Zatanna pressed her lips together.

"Zee, he's worried about you. He's literally head over heels in love with you, the untamable Dick Grayson. He knows what it's like to lose family and doesn't want to get hung up on it, like he might've; like Bruce did.

Zatanna flexed her jaw in annoyance at the memories flooding back into her mind. "I can't move on with my life and just forget about my dad, he raised me, he's my blood, and he was my best friend. I've already lived a life without one parent, don't ask me to live my life without the other."

Artemis looked at her best friend, who sat rigidly in the passenger seat. She looked angry, hurt, and unforgiving. This was the very reason she didn't hesitate when Zatanna had asked her for help; she didn't want her going in alone especially feeling the way she did. Anger, resentment, those were easily manipulated feelings and though Zee was good at controlling herself, in a realm where magic ran rampant and with Klarion as their guide, she was going to make sure her best friend made it through.

"Hey," Artemis said seriously, "I'm on your side Zee. I'm here. We're on this mission together. You have my back and I've got yours. We'll do whatever it takes within reason to make sure we get him back."

Zatanna locked eyes with her best friend and nodded. An hour or so later, Artemis pulled up to the Titans Tower garage, they got out of the car and made their way to the trunk to grab their things.

As they walked inside, Zatanna grabbed Artemis's arms. "Don't let it slip that Dick and I aren't in a good place right now, kay?"

Artemis looked at Zatanna confused. "Why would-"

Just then a green flash of light exploded into the room and yanked them into a vice tight hug; midair.

"Artemis! Zatanna! Welcome to Titans Tower!" Starfire beamed.


	3. Chapter 3

"Titans tower?" he rasped in surprise. "What the hell are they doing at Titans tower?!"

"Getting themselves into nothing but trouble." Wally mumbled as he finished the last of his milkshake.

Dick whirled around to face him. "Then why the hell aren't we stopping them? You and Artemis have been retired for years, why is she-"

"Hey, don't blame this on Artemis, you know she could never say no to Zatanna. Especially when it came to this. You know just as well as I do, that those two are thicker than thieves." Wally reminded him.

"Yeah, well maybe if Artemis had said no, we wouldn't be here having this conversation." Dick growled.

Wally shrugged tensely and threw his cup into the trash bin next to the park bench they sat on.

"I'm going to Titans Tower, I'm going to stop them. This is a bad idea and I'm not going to let them take Starfire _**and**_ Raven down with them. Enough is enough." Dick stood up and started walking off.

"Now that's a bad idea." Wally said grabbing his shoulder and turning him around. "What do you think you'll accomplish going over there to lecture her? You just said you two had the worst fight of your lives last night. You think following her to the east coast is going to do any good? She needs to do this, Artemis says it's their last shot, so let them try."

Dick shoved his hand off his shoulder. "Well doing nothing isn't going to change anything either and I'm not going to sit here and argue with you while she goes over there and risks her life, risks everything that matters to her because some psychopath made her a deal. I've been in this business for years and when a crazy man makes you a deal, it always falls apart. UGH! Why am I telling you this, you should know this, Artemis should know this! You're both just egging her on. Why? Why don't you care that she might take out Artemis in this mess too? Don't you care what happens to her anymore? What, you get saved from the speed force and now you think you two are invincible?"

"Hey!" Wally shouted grabbing him by shirt, "You think I wanted this? You think I'm on board?! You don't think I've learned my lesson?! I've been trying to leave this life with Artemis for years and you know it. Don't you dare accuse me of not trying hard enough to protect her! But it's you and Zatanna, you two are the reason, the only reason either of us would step back into the game and you both know it. You think I didn't try talking her out of this? The minute Zatanna called and asked, I knew I'd already lost. Just like whenever you call, Artemis knows it's a lost cause to argue with me, because we love you. You're our family. So don't you try to make this an us issue. Zatanna needs to either succeed or fail, but she needs to do this now and with someone she knows will back her play within reason. Artemis promised to look after her and if anything goes wrong, she's pulling them both out of there, even if that means bringing Zatanna back cuffed and gagged."

Dick flexed his fists and then dropped his guard completely. "Okay. Okay, I'm sorry, I know Artemis is doing this to protect her, I just wish they weren't doing it at all. I have to say something Wally, I have to try again."

Wally let go of his shirt. "Zatanna…. She's not gonna give it up. She needs this Dick, she needs to try."

"I know," Dick breathed, "but I need her. I…I need her, man."

Wally was taken aback by his best friend's sudden honesty, he could only imagine what it cost him…the son of the bat showing his emotions so freely. He could understand though, Zatanna and him had been on and off for years up until recently and that was about four and a half years ago, they had what Wally constantly described as a destructive pull to one another. After Zatanna had lost her father to Fate, Dick had been trying to save her from herself for years. He was addicted to saving her in the same way that she was addicted to loving and healing him in only the way she could. In the years that they had been together, the change in Dick was palpable, he was happy and normalized. After all he had been through, even after Jason, she brought him back from the shadows he slipped into. They were dynamic together and destructive apart; they were able to reign the other in and push each other forward, they supported each other in every sense of the word. They weren't just a couple, they were partners, a team.

Wally looked his best friend in the eye. "She needs you too."

Dick's look of frustration wavered, "Not more than she needs this." He muttered dejectedly.

This was the crux of the problem, his fear that she would be consumed by her past, by the darkness that plagued and haunted her; her father.

"Dude, she needs you **because** of this. This and you; that's what's been driving her, pushing her to grow and be who she is. She's not like….like Bruce was. You saved her from that, don't doubt that."

Dick looked his best friend in the eyes and looked for any sign of uncertainty, when he couldn't find any he sighed.

"Okay," he agreed, "I won't try and stop her, but I need to talk to her before they go off world."

Wally looked at him doubtfully.

"To wish her luck." He said rolling his eyes at Wally's worried expression.

Wally ran his fingers through his red hair, "Yeah, well I don't know much luck comes into play in a realm of magic."

Dick smirked at him.

"Sometimes I can't even believe you're dating an actual wizard."

Dick laughed tersely.

"She hates when you call her that. She's not a wizard, sorceress or a witch. She's human." Dick reminded him.

"With powers." Wally countered.

"Says the guy who runs faster than sound." Dick smiled.

"Says the hungry guy, who runs faster than sound." Wally corrected him.

"Don't you have to run back to work? You're halfway around the country."

Wally shrugged. "I used the zeta tubes, common, I could eat. Plus, you're buying, how could I say no?"

"Yeah yeah, let's just grab something before my lunch break is up." Dick chuckled.


End file.
